The present invention relates to a silicon wafer for the purpose of detecting crystal defects and the method of detection thereof, specifically to a silicon wafer for the purpose of detecting crystal defects and the method of detection thereof, in which crystal defects formed on the surface of the silicon wafer are shown up in pits and projections by forming epitaxial layer.
A silicon wafer is the general term for a silicon single crystal subtrate (hereafter may be referred to as xe2x80x9cmirror surface waferxe2x80x9d) made by slicing the single crystal grown by Czochralski method (CZ method) or Floating zone melting method (FZ method) to thin plate and further polishing the surface to a mirror surface state (hereafter may be referred to as xe2x80x9cmirror surface waferxe2x80x9d) or a silicon epitaxial wafer obtained by forming a thin film of silicon single crystal on the mirror surface wafer by vapor phase growth. A variety of crystal defects such as point defect, line defect, plane defect, etc. are formed in a silicon wafer. Among these, the one appearing on the surface (hereafter may be referred to as xe2x80x9csurface defectxe2x80x9d) exerts an influence to the electric characteristic of semiconductor devices having circuits formed in near proximity to the surface of the silicon wafer, and the adequate control of the condition of detect generation is needed.
As the surface detect has ordinarily no virtual pit or projection, it is shown up in pit or projection by preferential etching to be detected. Sirtl solution, Secco solution, and Wright solution are well known as solutions for preferential etching. For example, Secco solution is a aqueous solution of 28.86 mol of 50% hydrofluoric acid and 0.15 mol of potassium bichromate (K2Cr2O7). These are etching solutions which oxidize silicon with the oxidizing agent and solve the oxide film with hydrofluoric acid. Crystal defects are made apparent by producing pits and/or projections through a phenomenon that the speed of oxidation by the oxidizing agent differs between oxidation of perfect crystal and that of a region where crystal defects or stresses exist.
Surface defects made apparent by the preferential etching are observed by a normalski type differential interference microscope to determine its density. The normalski type differential interference microscope gives a three-dimensional appearance of irregularity and ruggedness of height of 3.5 nm or higher, and the inclination of plane is observed as a difference in interference color.
The density of surface defects is determined by observing 5 to 9 points of area or scanning in the direction of diameter by 100xc3x97 to 400xc3x97 magnification. The number of defects per silicon wafer is worked out from the detected number of defects and the measurement area.
For example, when a silicon wafer of 200 mm diameter is scanned in the direction of diameter in the shape of a cross by the differential interference microscope, if the diameter of the field of view of the microscope is 1.7 mm, then the measurement area is:
1.7 mmxc3x97200 mmxc3x972=680 mm2. 
Supposing that one surface defect is observed by the scanning, the number of surface defects per silicon wafer is:
1(defect)xc3x97(xcfx80xc3x971002 mm2)÷680 mm246(defect). 
The above value 46 of the number of surface defects per silicon wafer is effective only when the surface defects are distributed evenly. When the surface defects appear localized in a region, the above value differs far from the real state. Also, when the density of surface defects is small, for example, when the number of surface defects per silicon wafer of diameter of 200 mm is under 46, there is high probability that no surface defect exists in the region scanned by the microscope and detection is substantially impossible.
Further, in the case of a silicon wafer of resistivity of 0.02 xcexa9cm or smaller, surface defects are difficult to appear by etching with aforesaid preferential etching solutuon.
On the other hand, there is visual inspection using collimated light as a method of simply inspecting the whole surface of a silicon wafer.
In the visual inspection, when the surface of a preferentially-etched silicon wafer is irradicated by collimated light, scattered light is reflected from surface defects. The distribution pattern of the surface defects is observed by viewing the scattered light in a darkroom. But, by this visual inspection, mapping of the surface defects on the whole surface can not be obtained by using a machine, and the accurate determination of the number and location of surface defects is not possible.
Also, when trying to detect the surface defects appearing on the surface of the silicon wafer by preferential etching by means of the light scattering type particle inspection apparatus, the etched figures generated by the preferential etching are detected similarly as particles together with the surface defects, and the surface defects can not be discriminated from the etched figures.
The present invention was made to solve the aforementioned problem. Accordingly, the object of the invention is to provide a silicon wafer on the surface of which the number and location of crystal defects generated can be easily detected and the method of detection thereof.
Usually, before performing epitaxial growth, heat treatment is performed in a hydrogen atmosphere at normal pressure and a temperature between 1100xc2x0 C. and 1200xc2x0 C. for etching the natural oxide film formed on the surface of a silicon wafer and for etching the silicon surface for the purpose of eliminating the crystal defects generated on the surface of the silicon wafer. The etching of the natural oxide film and that of the silicon surface are instantly completed at the above-mentioned temperature range. Then, by vapor phase growth of silicon single crystal thin film on the surface of the cleaned silicon wafer, an epitaxial layer with largely reduced surface defects is formed.
The etching of the natural oxide film by hydrogen can be effected at temperatures above 900xc2x0 C. at normal pressure, but, on the other hand, the speed of etching a silicon surface by hydrogen decreases rapidly when the temperature of heat treatment is lower than 1100xc2x0 C. and the etching hardly occurs below 1080xc2x0 C.
Therefore, if a silicon wafer is heat-treated at a temperature between 900xc2x0 C. and 1080xc2x0 C. in a hydrogen atmosphere of normal pressure, the natural oxide film is completely removed but the surface of the silicon wafer is hardly etched, thus the surface condition is preserved and also the surface defects are preserved without being removed.
After this heat treatment, if a silicon single crystal film is grown in vapor phase on the silicon wafer at a temperature between 900xc2x0 C. and 1080xc2x0 C. at normal pressure, the surface defects are preserved during the vapor phase growth and transferred to the epitaxial layer. Thus, the surface defects on the silicon wafer become apparent on the surface of the epitaxial layer as crystal defects having pits and/or projections.
As the crystal defects appearing on the surface of the epitaxial layer have pits and/or projections, they are detected by a light scattering type particle inspection apparatus like particles are detected.
The present invention was made based on the above mentioned findings. The inspection object silicon wafer for the purpose of detecting crystal defects is characterized in that epitaxial growth is made on the surface of a mirror surface wafer which the natural oxide film is removed of without surface defects being eliminated to make the crystal defects having pits and/or projections appear on the surface of the epitaxial layer.
The inspection object silicon wafer for the purpose of detecting crystal defects is manufactured through a process of heat treatment in which the natural oxide film is removed without the surface defects of a mirror surface wafer being eliminated, and a process of epitaxial growth in which the epitaxial growth is made on the surface of the mirror surface wafer and the crystal defects having pits and/or projection are generated on the surface of the epitaxial layer.
More concretely, the heat treatment process and epitaxial growth process are preferably performed under a hydrogen atmosphere of normal pressure at a temperature between 900xc2x0 C. and 1080xc2x0 C.
The crystal defect detection method according to the present invention relates to a detection method which can easily detect the number and location of the crystal defects formed on the surface of a silicon wafer by use of said inspection object. The method is characterized in that; by making epitaxial growth on the surface of a silicon wafer heat-treated under a temperature condition in which the natural oxide film is removed but the surface state of the silicon wafer is preserved, crystal defects having pits and projections are made to appear on the surface of the epitaxial layer; and the crystal defects having pits and projections are detected by a light scattering particle inspection apparatus. Further preferably the heat treatment and the growth of epitaxial layer are performed under a hydrogen atmosphere of ordinary atmosphere at a temperature between 900xc2x0 C. and 1080xc2x0 C.